a world where love hurts less (The Wayne Brothers)
by Quivorian
Summary: [ALT CONTINUITY OF MY UPCOMING FIC] "Before she saw the Wayne brothers, she hadn't been sure how the rest of her first day would go. And now… Truthfully, she still didn't know. But she was willing to find out. Excited to find out." (Barbara-centric, but in large, The Brothers Wayne-centric. Also, Dick/Babs, and Jason/Steph and Tim/Cass... just cuz. Oh, and Bruce/Selina.)
1. first sight

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Originally posted on AO3 but I didn't entirely like how it turned out so I revamped it. I'll post it next there, but for the meantime, The Wayne Brothers [REVAMPED] debuts here on FanFiction.**

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Barbara Gordon picked at her school lunch, not really paying attention to her plate as she half-ate without any enthusiasm. The food – whatever it was – tasted weird on her tongue. Her first day at Gotham High was going fairly well, but there was still half a day to go and she knew from experience that anything could go wrong at any time. She was living, physical proof of that, after all. So, understandably, Barbara wanted to make sure, with absolute and undeniable certainty that she did not mess anything up.

So she sat in her corner, looking all around the cafeteria with mild interest. She identified some of the other students from the classes she'd had earlier in the day but most of the faces belonged to strangers. Thankfully, no one bothered her – no one even seemed to notice her. She scooped up some food and slowly bought it to her mouth.

"Hey, Babs, anything I can help you with?" a cheerful voice asked from behind her, making Barbara drop her spoon on the plate. She turned around with a frown to see Stephanie Brown, the blonde-haired girl with the bright attitude who had taken it upon herself to be Barbara's guide around Gotham High. The cheeriness was a little more than Barbara liked, but Stephanie was an easy-going person who seemed genuinely likeable.

After picking up her spoon and forcing another mouthful of her food, Barbara looked at Stephanie and raised an eyebrow. "Babs?"

"Yeah, it's your nickname from now on. You don't mind if I call you that, right?"

Barbara nodded.

"And you can call me Steph, 'kay?" Stephanie waited for Barbara to nod again before continuing, "So, Babs,"—she grinned—"I ask again, anything I can help you with?"

Barbara opened her mouth to answer Stephanie's question and then closes them again, watching with interest as the cafeteria doors that led out to the school main grounds opened and three guys walked in. She hadn't seen them before, but that wasn't what caught her attention and neither was the fact the three were all very good looking.

Barbara attention was captured because of one simple reason – they were obnoxiously loud and seemed to be bursting with energy.

"Hey," Barbara elbowed Stephanie, who had taken Barbara's silence to mean a lack of interest and was fiddling with her phone, and nodded towards the three who were now making their way – loudly – to an empty table at the far end of the cafeteria. "Those three," Barbara didn't know why she whispered, "who are they?"

Stephanie looked up from her phone and looked at the direction Barbara pointed. Then she looked at Barbara and smiled. Her eyes sparkled. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"Those three…" Stephanie paused for effect and then continued dramatically, "Those three, Babs, are the Wayne Brothers."

The Wayne Brothers.

The name Wayne didn't escape her. Neither did it's significance. It was something she'd continuously heard and saw on the news even when she was back in Coast City before her father's transfer to the Gotham City Police Department. But the Wayne brothers? She knew of Bruce Wayne, Gotham City's resident young playboy billionaire, a staple in the city's high society but as much as the public knew of him, his private life remained that – Private.

So, what connection did these three have to do with the billionaire, who literally could buy the entirety of Gotham High with a fraction of what he made in a bad day?

Barbara looked at Stephanie questioningly, "Any connection to Bruce Wayne?"

"Yup."

Barbara prided her analytical mind. She processed Stephanie's answer and latched onto the most logical connection between Bruce Wayne and the Wayne brothers, following the rules set by Occam's Razor. "So, they're his sons?"

"Yup."

The answer, though expected, was surprising. "Bruce Wayne has sons?!" Barbara could hear the disbelief coloring her voice.

"I understand the confusion," Stephanie said sympathetically, "He doesn't seem the type, right?"

She muttered an ahuh and continued watching the three brothers with interest. Now seated and considerably quieter than earlier, the three were now engrossed in a conversation. As she watched, the tallest one (most possibly the eldest, her mind figured), threw his head back and laughed at something one of his brothers said.

"They're his adopted sons, if that explains it," Stephanie offered and without waiting for a reaction, continued, "And Mr Wayne is very, very insistent on their privacy. And they… well, they don't go by the Wayne family name. At least, not yet."

"Huh."

"Yup. See the tallest one?"

"Yeah?"

Of course she saw him. She was, after all, now staring at him. Watching the way his moppy hair jerked around at his sudden movements, the way his body-hugging black tee with some abstract blue bird design crinkled when he reached over to hit one of his brothers, the way he openly laughed. Barbara definitely saw him.

"He is the eldest," Stephanie started, and Barbara mentally clapped herself on her back, "Name is Richard Grayson. He doesn't like the name Richard, and so – and no one understands why – goes by Dick."

"Really?"

"Yup. And I know you're going to ask, so, no. No one ever makes fun of his name. The guy is a martial artist and a gymnast and will kick anyone's ass on any given day. People are usually either too scared to say anything or…"

Stephanie trailed off. Barbara prompted, "Or?"

"Or too busy making googly eyes at him." Stephanie looked Barbara for a moment and then chuckled to herself. Barbara raised an eyebrow again. Still chuckling, Stephanie said, "Like you are, I suppose. But like, a thousand times worse because they've seen him shirtless."

Barbara felt herself blush. She shook her head and then pointedly looked down at her plate. "I wasn't making googly eyes… I was…"

"It's okay." Stephanie interrupted. "Believe it or not, the others are worse. Dick spends his free time in the gymnasium and swims on the school team. Most of the audience in anything he participates are there to gawk at him."

Barbara laughed. "And the other half watch the games?"

"You'd think, but nope." Stephanie shook her head. "The other half are usually there for Jason."

"Who?"

A note of reverence was in Stephanie's voice as she repeated, "Jason Todd." Stephanie sighed. "Jason is, by no coincidence, Dick's first brother. The guy who is sitting right next to him."

Barbara looked up from her plate and looked in the direction of the brothers. Her eyes glanced at Dick for a moment before she forced them to look at the other two who sat with Dick. The three were similar in many ways, but still just as different.

Both of Dick's brothers were more or less the same height, but one was built more like a quarterback and/or a boxer while the other had a leaner physique, even more so than Dick's considerably lean one. The quarterback – no, Jason, Barbara corrected herself – was dressed in a form fitting black tee with a loose red hoodie on top, unzipped and was sitting right next to Dick. He didn't seem to smile much and was conversing with Dick, a cigarette burning away on his lips. Occasionally, he punched Dick on the shoulder.

The other one, the leaner one, wasn't much of an active participant in the conversation and only lifted his head up from whatever it was he was doing under the table to offer some tidbit to the conversation. He too, was wearing a black tee, plain.

What was it with the Waynes and black tees?

"Jason Todd. Smoker. Boxer. Rebel. Footballer. Mean guy. Good guy." Barbara looked at Stephanie as she went on describing, "Sometimes he's sort of a jerk. Ruggedly–" Stephanie stopped herself short, "He single handedly holds the award for most detentions in school." She sighed a little wistfully and continued, "Dick calls him Jay. Dick is the only one who calls him Jay."

There was a great deal of emphasis on the way Stephanie said only and Barbara knew there was a story behind it. Barbara had also noticed the significant change in Stephanie as she talked about Jason.

Barbara ate a few more spoonfuls in silence and then asked, "So, are you Team Dick or Team Jason?"

Stephanie looked at Barbara, "What?"

"You said half the people attended the events for Dick and the other half attended for Jason. Which half are you in? Team Dick or Team Jason?"

"I… you… what do you…" Stephanie gulped. Her eyes widened a little. She shook her head and sputtered out, "I am not…"

Barbara shrugged. Wanting let Stephanie off – just for the moment – she changed the topic.

"Right. Dick Grayson. Check. Jason Todd. Check. And the last–"

Stephanie jumped in before Barbara finished her sentence. "The last but definitely not the least – and none of them are anywhere near the 'least', mind you – is Timothy 'Tim' Drake. Adopted third, silent but funny. Last summer he hacked into the school server and caused chaos. Simply to prove a point. They almost expelled him. Almost."

"But they couldn't?"

"But they couldn't. Anyway, Tim doesn't get along well with Jason. Or more accurately, Jason doesn't get along well with Tim."

Barbara found that surprising. She could believe that Jason would be generally unfriendly but towards his own brother? "Why?" she asked.

"I don't know the details but the rumor is that…" Stephanie lowered her voice, "The rumor is that Jason ran away once and when he was gone, Mr Wayne adopted Tim and Jason thought Tim was like a replacement or… well – I don't know. Mr Wayne, like I said, is very insistent on their privacy."

"Huh."

"Yup, well. You'll see soon, Babs. You'll see soon."

With that ominous statement, Stephanie seemed to be done with the explanations and chose to return to her phone, but not before glancing at the brothers one last time. Barbara's curiosity however was still not sated.

"How old are they?"

Stephanie shot a curious look at Barbara before answering. "We're in the same classes as Jason and Tim. They're sixteen and fifteen, respectively, though because Tim is a bit of a genius he skipped one year."

"And Dick?"

"He's almost seventeen. Turns seventeen in a few months, if I am right."

"You seem to know quite a lot about the Wayne brothers…" Barbara asked with a teasing tone, "Anything I should know about?"

"I wish." Stephanie replied. Something in her voice made Barbara feel like something was being kept from her – clearly, Stephanie liked Jason – but she didn't push. Stephanie continued, "Most – if not all – of the girls here know a lot about the Wayne brothers. Or at least as much as anyone knows about them."

It wasn't surprising news. Teenage girls tended to be like that with just about any pretty boy and the Wayne brothers were more than just pretty boys. Even Barbara wasn't an exception to the rule. The eldest Wayne had piqued her interest.

"So… Dick–" Barbara started on another question about the eldest Wayne when Stephanie interrupted her, again.

"And here comes the little one." Stephanie announced.

"What?"

"The fourth Wayne brother."

"There's a fourth?"

"Ahuh." Stephanie nodded and pointed. Barbara saw a kid, looking maybe an athletic thirteen or fourteen, dressed in a semi-formal outfit walking towards the table where the other Waynes sat. "Meet Damian Wayne. He is–"

Now Barbara interrupted Stephanie. "Wayne?" After a long line of non-Waynes in the Wayne family, this one was different. "He is actually named Wayne?"

"Yup. Like I saying, he is Mr Wayne's actual biological son."

"Oh."

Stephanie nodded. "Damian is not even ten, yet,"— _not even ten?_ —"and he is a bit of a… hmmm… a bit of a whirlwind. Of terror. He doesn't get along with either Jason or Tim and if the rumors are true – and they more than likely are – he once actually stabbed Tim with a knife."

"But he is with them now?" Barbara asked, looking at Damian who sat opposite his brothers and silently ate his food, paying no attention to his brother's conversation.

"Mr Wayne has a way of reigning in Damian, I suppose. And Damian actually likes, or at least I think he likes, Dick."

Barbara took a minute to process the conversation with Stephanie, committing the details to her memory. _Four brothers, three adopted. Eldest, Dick Grayson. Then Jason Todd, followed by Tim Drake. Finally Damian Wayne. Jason doesn't like Tim. Damian doesn't like Tim and Jason. They're loud, annoying and incredibly hot._

Barbara looked at the brothers again. Dick was now reaching across the table and picking off food from Damian's plate. Barbara smiled. Before Stephanie had joined her and before she saw the Wayne brothers, she hadn't been sure how the rest of her first day would go. And now…

Truthfully, she still didn't know. But she was willing to find out. Excited to find out.

She took a proper look at her plate and took a mouthful of her food. It tasted good now. "The Wayne brothers, huh?"

"The Wayne brothers. Speaking of, one of them is looking at you."

"What?"

"Don't look. Or look." Barbara pointedly stared at her plate trying to control the rapidly increasing urge to sneak a glance her head in their direction. She could hear a slight smile in Stephanie's voice as she continued, "Dick Grayson's been staring at you for a while."

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 **A/N 2: I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to continue this, but fear not, I will continue. Until then, reviews are incentive for me to think harder and work faster on this. Review please?**

 **A/N 3: Guys, I would really appreciate anyone who reviews this work to also copy the review and send it to me as a PM. The reviews page has a problem right now but I want the reviews there when it is fixed AND I want to read the reviews now. I'm silly and selfish like that.**


	2. revelations

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: First off, huge thanks to Fanfiction user 'transmetaljohn' who sent me a message about the characterization of Tim Drake, which helped to both make the character better and the story/narrative that much more richer. With that, here is the second chapter of the Wayne Brothers.**

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Trying to avoid looking at a considerably good-looking – who was she kidding, he was downright gorgeous – boy who was supposedly staring at you was a very hard thing to do. Barbara, after having not even bothered to look at what she was eating so far, found that her plate was half filled with veggie fried rice with chicken. Her look fixed on her plate, Barbara ate another mouthful.

In her side, Stephanie was being silent and focused solely on her phone. Then, after a while, she laughed. "Gotcha."

A wave of disappointment surged through Barbara as she looked up now at the face of Stephanie, who was grinning at her. She couldn't blame Stephanie for her harmless little joke. But it did hurt a little, because for a while, thinking that she had captured the attention of Dick Grayson was a boost of confidence. A much needed boost of confidence on her first day. _Why would he even look at me?_

Stephanie seemed to notice the change in Barbara's face. "Hey…" she started, "I am sorry."

Barbara smiled at Stephanie. "It's alright." Then, not waiting for Stephanie to speak or she pushed off the table and turned her wheelchair around. Leaving half her food uneaten, Barbara Gordon wheeled herself off to the exit of the cafeteria. Tamping down the raging sense of insecurity that had suddenly welled up, she pulled out her mobile phone and checked her timetable.

 _American Literature,_ Barbara sighed. _Fun._

— — —

Despite the subject being not exactly the most entertaining subject in the multiverse, Barbara felt better as she gathered up her books after the lesson in American Literature finished. The energy she had spent trying to focus on what was being taught and not falling asleep in her wheelchair had distracted her from the minor event in the cafeteria.

Thinking back an hour, she felt like she could almost laugh. She was not a doe-eyed naive girl who fell for the school's supposed heartthrob and this was not a sappy love story being played out in a large cinema screen.

She was Barbara Gordon, daughter of Detective James Gordon, and a straight-A student who had gotten far in her academic life by never losing focus. It was a skill she had fine-tuned over the years, through multiple traumatizing events. She hadn't come this far to lose it in one day at her new school. If she were to achieve success in her life, focus was one thing she could not afford to lose.

Looking at the board one last time to ensure she had taken the homework notes down carefully, Barbara wheeled out of the classroom, after wishing her teacher a good day. Outside, leaning against the wall opposite the door, Stephanie Brown was leaning against the wall, phone in hand and with earphones plugged in both ears.

Seeing Barbara come out, Stephanie pulled her earphones out and pocketed her phone. Barbara raised an eyebrow, almost asking 'why are you here?' Stephanie, developing a complete maturity, stuck her tongue out in reply. Then, ruffling her hair, she walked across to Barbara.

"Hey," Stephanie greeted brightly.

"Hi," Barbara greeted back in a neutral voice.

After a moment spent looking at each other, the two of them started down the hallway in a semi-awkward silence in the same direction. Stephanie was the first to speak. "You have Trig next, right?"

 _How does she—_ The thought didn't even finish forming. It didn't take long to remember that Barbara had shared her timetable with Stephanie in the morning, when Stephanie had shown her around the school. Barbara nodded silently in answer.

Stephanie spoke again, her tone apologetic. "Look, I am sorry," she said and Barbara could hear that she meant it though in reality, it was nothing but a harmless joke that had unexpectedly affected Barbara. "I shouldn't have—"

"No. I am the one who is sorry," Barbara interrupted Stephanie's apology. Stopping her wheelchair, she turned to look at Stephanie and smiled earnestly. "It was just a joke, I get that. And it shouldn't have affected me as it did and honestly, I think I might just have been dramatically overplaying it."

Stephanie stared at her.

Barbara continued. "It's just… the thought of Dick Grayson looking at me was both too good to be true and… erm," she paused for a moment, feeling her cheeks warm up, "err… flattering."

Stephanie was now smiling. Her blue-green eyes brightened considerably. "I can understand that."

"And I was so proud of myself for being an independant woman."

The two of them chuckled together. "Babs, trust me. The Wayne brothers are going to be the exception to many rules," Stephanie declared and Barbara felt that there was truth behind Stephanie's words. From what she had seen of the Wayne brothers in the cafeteria and from what she had heard of the Wayne brothers from Stephanie… it seemed obvious that Bruce Wayne's sons were meant to be the exception to the rules.

The incredible good looks (she had seen it in all four of the brothers), the supposed athletic skills (not that she didn't believe they were athletic, she just hadn't yet seen it in action), the proclaimed intellectuality (obviously), the irresistible bad-boy aura (somehow, against all natural laws, each Wayne brother had a different flavor of it)… In the delicate teenage years when girls' hormones could be affected by just one of these factors, all four together was a dangerous combination. In addition to the looks and the skills and the brains and the attitude, the brothers also seemed to have an unbreakable bond between them, despite the rumored familial trouble that gave them another likeable aspect.

Adding their father, Bruce Wayne's immense wealth, respect and power in Gotham City only heightened the allure of each of the brothers. Exponentially.

"Shall we?" Stephanie asked.

"Huh?"

"Trig," Stephanie said with a groan, her eyes bright and humorous. "Shall we?"

Barbara felt her smile grow at Stephanie's dislike of Trig – she herself loved it – and nodded. "Which way to Trig?"

Stephanie didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed the handles of Barbara's wheelchair and made revving noises in her mouth. "Get ready for the best ride of your life, Babs." Barbara started protesting, but Stephanie had already broken into a jog and was slowly increasing speed. Giving up any notion of talking down Stephanie, Barbara simply let herself loosen up.

— — —

Trigonometry was beyond fun.

There were multiple reasons why. The first, obviously, was the fact that she was an avid lover of numbers and mathematics was amongst her best subjects. Trig was a breeze.

The second reason was that Stephanie, unlike her, did not seem to like either numbers or mathematics. Sitting next to Barbara, Stephanie had spent most of the lesson complaining and doodling on the edges of her notebook and giving Barbara odd tidbits about various things around Gotham High (Barbara had learned that Tweed twins were called Tweedledum and Tweedledee and that Mr Hall, who taught Trig and some other subjects, was a personal friend of Bruce Wayne).

Third reason? The class also included two of the Wayne brothers: Jason Todd and Tim Drake. They were fascinating to watch. Tim Drake was intelligent, very. It was obvious from the moment Mr Hall asked him to start the lesson for him. Unhesitant, Tim had easily solved the problems that had been presented on the board. Barbara was impressed. For someone so silent and not outspoken – _Yeah, no_. Silent and outspoken and a geek/nerd? It was not to believe.

On the other hand, there was Jason Todd. He had entered the classroom with an unlit cigarette in his mouth – around five minutes late – with a backpack slung over his shoulder. Without even turning from writing equations on the board, Mr Fox had very pointedly asked him to leave the class or stash the cigarette. Grumbling, Jason had stuffed the cigarette into his pocket and walked into the class and picked a seat in the very end. Coincidentally, Barbara had noted halfway through the lesson, Jason was sitting two seats behind Stephanie.

Jason had spent most of the lesson decidedly not paying attention, busying himself on his phone, making jokes or occasionally glaring at Tim. But when he had been called on by Mr Hall to answer a question, he had – after reacting with "Really, Hall? What do you have against me?" – managed to get the answer more or less right.

When the lesson ended, most of the class almost ran out of the door, led by Jason who was out before anyone else. Only Barbara, Stephanie and Tim remained in the class. While gathering her books, getting ready to leave, Barbara's pencil rolled off her desk and fell down. Stephanie and Tim reached for it at the same moment, and when Stephanie touched Tim's hand, she immediately recoiled. He grimaced for a quick second before turning to Barbara and handing her the pencil.

Noting down the odd incident, Barbara thanked Tim.

"It's alright," he answered. "Glad to help."

"Thanks anyway," Barbara said.

He extended a hand. "Timothy Drake."

"Already know it." Adjusting her glasses, Barbara reached out and shook it. Tim looked questioningly at her for a moment before glancing at Stephanie. His eyes seemed to cloud for a moment when he looked at her. Then he turned back to her. Still holding his hand, Barbara introduced herself. "Barbara Gordon."

"Pleased to meet you," He grinned, showing a perfect set of teeth. Then he fixed his light blue eyes on her. "So, these things you heard from Steph. Hope you heard all good things?"

"Nothing but." Barbara answered and started towards the door. Tim and Stephanie followed.

"So, what did you tell her?" Tim asked Stephanie in a light tone.

When Stephanie didn't answer for a while, Barbara started talking. "Nothing much. Just that you're incredibly clever and funny. That you hacked into the school once." Tim mock-groaned. "And that you're the third Wayne brother in Gotham High."

"Errrr…" Tim started, "that's not entirely right."

Both Barbara and Stephanie stopped and spoke in unison. Stephanie staring at Tim with incredulity and Barbara alternating between the two of them.

"What?" Stephanie said.

"What do you mean 'that is not entirely right'?" Barbara asked.

Putting his hands up in a 'calm down' gesture, Tim started walking again down the hallway. "I mean, most people simply assume that I am adopted by Mr Wayne and that Dick and Jay and Damian are my brothers and I suppose that is quite accurate but I don't think it's exactly the way you think it is?"

Stephanie glared at him. "What does that mean?"

Barbara silently waited for Tim to continue. _So Tim was not adopted by Mr Wayne? Then what exactly is_ —Tim started speaking again. "I mean, it's not wrong. Per se. But… Dick and Jason, um, lost their parents when Bruce took them in. Damian _is_ his son. I still have my parents. Parent, actually."

"WHAT?" Stephanie blurted, disbelieving. "What?!"

"Yeah…" Tim was scrunching up his face with a sheepish grin. "My mom, Janet, died a long time ago." A look of sadness crossed over his face. "But my dad is alive. Jack Drake, famous archaeologist. Travels the world a lot and he… remarried. I didn't wanna be dragged all over the world and I didn't much like my stepmom so… his friend – that is Bruce Wayne – offered to take me in and look after me. Been with them since."

Stephanie's only reaction was a muted 'Oh'. Barbara was still processing the information. Seems like there was a lot more to the Wayne family than what was on the surface. Stephanie asked, "No one knows this? Like, no one in school?"

Tim shook his head.

When Barbara had heard earlier from Stephanie that Mr Wayne was insistent on the privacy of the family, she had simply assumed it was to protect his kids from the obvious scrutiny from the press that was inevitable. With Tim's sudden revelation, it dawned to Barbara that Bruce Wayne was fierce about his privacy because of more reasons than just the obvious.

"But… but…" Stephanie was stammering.

Barbara silenced her with a hand and asked Tim a question, "So no one knows about this in school, right?"

Tim nodded.

"And obviously, this is because you don't want anyone to know?"

"Right," Tim said.

"Where are you going with this?" Stephanie asked.

Tim answered her question before Barbara could. "She wants to know why I chose to reveal this to the two of you, out of the blue."

Barbara nodded, yet again impressed at Tim's quick deduction.

Stephanie now looked at him with a puzzled look. "Exactly!" she exclaimed. "Why?"

Tim didn't answer. Silently, they reached the end of the hallway and turned into another. Halfway along the length of this hallway, Tim stood in front a door labelled 'Computer Lab' for a moment, then opening his door he entered the room.

"Are you going to tell us?" Stephanie asked, curious.

Tim smiled at the two of them. "I chose to reveal this to you…" he paused, waiting a while to intensify the drama before continuing, "I chose to reveal this to you because you"—Tim fixed his eyes at Stephanie—"are already part of the family." Then he turned to Barbara and his eyes captured her attention fully. "You, I have the strangest feeling, are soon going to be part of it."

Both Barbara and Stephanie gaped at him in confusion.

Tim spoke again, in a low mischievous whisper, "And considering the above facts, it only seemed right that I reveal this to the two of you at the same time."

Then, grinning widely, he winked at them and closed the door.

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 **A/N 2: So, here is the deal. This was actually originally not supposed to be written or uploaded for at least another two weeks. Yet, it is here. Why? Here is why. A comment on the AO3 copy of Wayne Brothers made me start the chapter earlier today and once started, the muse got me through to the end. The point is people… Comments help. Reviews inspire. Criticisms improve. So, if you liked it, please take the time to leave your thoughts.**


	3. thinking

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not much to say, except what I always say, thanks to you all. Especially those who bother to actually tell me what you think. Anyone expecting Dick to make an appearance will continue to be disappointed in this chapter since he doesn't. However, he will in the next. Mayyyybe... Till then, just enjoy.**

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Standing in front of the computer lab door, Barbara stared at the space where Tim Drake was standing just a moment ago. _You, I have the strangest feeling, are soon going to be part of it_. Tim Drake's voice ran through her mind. _You, I have the strangest feeling, are soon going to be part of it._ Her mind tried hard, but could not come up with any satisfactory explanations for his words.

Then she thought of what Tim said to Stephanie. _You are already part of the family._ The implications ran through her mind, but again… _Nope. Not adequate. Not possible. Impossible._ Nothing she can come up with sufficiently explained Tim's mysterious words.

She turned and looked at Stephanie, and found that she was still gaping.

Barbara coughed. Stephanie turned to her, with a dazed look on her face. There was just the slightest bit of comprehension in Stephanie's eyes, as if she understood the meaning of Tim's words more than Barbara did. Or at least a little. "Steph…" Barbara called out.

"Huh?"

"You understood what the hell that was about?"

Stephanie shut her eyes tight and shook her head wildly, as if quickly clearing her mind. Then she cleared her throat. She looked at Barbara and shrugged uneasily. "No," she replied quietly. "Not really." Her voice was low, barely above a whisper and dry.

It didn't take much effort for Barbara to understand that Stephanie was lying to her. She didn't know why or what Stephanie knew that she didn't want to share with Barbara. Still, Barbara was not going to push. She decided that whatever it was, Stephanie had every right to her secrets. After all, she had only known Stephanie for half a day and however bright or cheery or friendly someone is, Barbara knew that it took much longer than a few hours to become friends, and even longer to have the privileges of learning secrets.

"Huh," Barbara muttered, half to herself, and turned her wheelchair around. "I'll tell you this much, Steph… those words? Those are going to cost me my sleep tonight."

"Mine too, Babs," Stephanie replied, looking straight ahead as they walked down the hallway. Her voice faltered for a brief moment. Something in the way she spoke told Barbara that Stephanie was not lying now. "Mine too."

— — —

For the rest of the day, throughout her lessons, Barbara's thoughts were dominated by the third Wayne – or more accurately, pseudo-Wayne's words. Timothy Drake, within a few hours of coming into her life, had managed to intrigue her within the period of one conversation. Though she paid attention to what was being taught, though she took her notes down diligently and actually learned, most of her considerable brain power was dedicated to solving Tim's puzzle.

At least, she was infinitely better than Stephanie was. After excusing herself and running off to the washroom before coming to class with eyes that looked like they had been crying, Stephanie had spent her time in lessons with her head resting in her arms, looking blank. Barbara wanted to help, but with Stephanie not telling her why she was upset, the best she could do was not much.

"Hey, Steph, you alright?" Barbara asked as they came out of class.

"Yup," Stephanie answered lifelessly. "I'm fine, Babs."

"You sure?"

"Yup."

"Look, I don't want to add to the whatever it is that is bothering you, but…" Barbara trailed off, feeling Stephanie's eyes on hers. After a moment, she continued, "Whatever is bothering you, if you want someone to talk to, I'm here." She rolled down the hallway for a few seconds in silence before adding, "You don't have to, but I'm still here."

All Stephanie had said in reply was "Thanks," but it had felt genuine. Barbara hadn't tried again after that, unwilling to push too much.

 _A part of the family?_ During the initial conversation with Stephanie, in the cafeteria, Barbara had noticed that Stephanie seemed to like Jason. She wondered whether Tim's words meant that Stephanie, more than just liking Jason, was already dating him. But if that were true, Stephanie had no reason to be upset about what Tim had said. _Unless…_ Unless of course, she and Jason had decided to keep their relationship a secret and that had failed– _no._ _No, that can't be it._ Barbara was sure that Stephanie _liked_ Jason, but was _definitely not_ dating him.

Despite her desperately trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together, somehow, they just didn't mesh right. It only got worse when Barbara tried to put together pieces regarding Tim's words directed at her.

Considering that Tim had only met Barbara in the Trig lesson, and therefore he didn't know enough about her, the best explanations she could come up with to explain ' _You, I have the strangest feeling, are soon going to be part of it'_ included:

One, it was a mean prank and Tim was just being a total jerk (which wasn't possible because he didn't seem like he was that type of guy). Two, Barbara had somehow become an amnesiac and she was dating one of the Waynes (she knew how ridiculous that sounded and she was paralyzed not amnesiac and it didn't fit with Tim's words and she could dream, _okay?_ ) or what seemed to be the most plausible and three, somehow, one of the Waynes had figured out she was ogling at them and this was related to that.

None of the answers could satisfactorily feed the part of her that was hungering for a rational, logical clarification. It didn't take too long before she decided that she was going to wait until the answer presented itself and gave up.

— — —

At the end of the school day, after saying goodbye to Stephanie with a hug, who had gained back most of her cheeriness, Barbara went straight home to the apartment complex where she and her father had moved in recently. Back in Coast City, they lived in a small, but nice house. But after being suddenly transferred to the Gotham City Police Department, her father didn't have enough time to find a house, much less have it altered to suit her disability. So, they had simply chosen an apartment instead. Barbara didn't mind.

She rode the elevator to her floor and crossed the hallway towards the door to her apartment. Fishing out her keys from her pocket, she opened it and let herself in. Carefully taking her bag off the back of her wheelchair, she dropped it in the sofa and headed towards her room, her mind still thinking about the interesting day at school.

"Barbara?" a voice called out, startling her. It took a moment to realize that it was her father and not some intruder, and then a few more to calm her heart down.

"Dad?" she turned around, a look of puzzlement crossing her face.

"Who else?" Captain James Gordon stood at his doorstep, still in his brown suit and white shirt, smiling at her. His kind and weary eyes twinkled with affection. He walked towards the living room and she followed him. Plopping down in a sofa, motioned for her to come in front of him. Aware that he probably wanted to have a serious conversation with her, she moved to where he pointed.

Inside, she was feeling the same things she had felt every time her father wanted to have a serious conversation with her: fear, apprehension, nervousness, worry and similarly themed feelings. She always knew that she wasn't being scolded or reprimanded, but James Gordon had the effect on her. _He is a detective,_ she justified it to herself. It wasn't a wonder these talks could feel like interrogations.

Before he could open his mouth, she spoke. "You're home early," she stated.

Her father nodded, "I am."

"Why… are you home early?"

"Can't a man want to spend some time with his daughter?" he asked her, chuckling. When she simply stared at him with raised eyebrows, he asked, "What? I am not kidding! I took a half day because it was you first day at school and I wanted to be here when you returned."

"Thanks, dad. But you didn't have to," she told him.

He gasped. "I didn't… I didn't have to?" he asked, holding a hand over his heart. "How dare you say that? Is that all the respect you have for your father?"

She rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant. I simply didn't expect you to be here." Barbara truly had not expected that he would be here. Their yearly ritual-of-sorts had completely escaped her mind.

"Barbara, I will always be here," his eyes fixed on hers. "And you should always know that."

The answer made her smile earnestly. She felt like a little girl. James Gordon had always been an affectionate man, and it had only increased since the untimely death of her mother. Taking on the role of both father and mother, he had raised Barbara up single-handedly and managed to have an excellent career as a detective, risen through the ranks and now ended up a captain in the Gotham City Police Department. Not once had he let himself be weakened by his responsibilities. Barbara loved him for it. And now, he had come home early to be there for her – something he had been doing without fail in the first day of every year of her academic life.

She didn't thank him. She never did. Instead, waited for him to ask the opening question of their ritual.

"So…" her father started, "How was your first day?"

Fighting the urge to smile, she replied. "Interesting."

"Interesting? How?" Before she could answer, he interrupted, "I bet not as interesting as a criminal with scaly skin calling himself Killer Croc, because I am not kidding, I met him today. _That_ was interesting."

She tilted her head and mouthed "What?"

Her father nodded earnestly. "It's true. Killer Croc. Anyway, your turn."

"Not as interesting as your day, dad." Keeping most of the details to herself, she gave him an overall summation of her day. She mentioned her classes, then Stephanie and then reluctantly mentioned the Wayne brothers.

James Gordon's eyes took on a mischievous glint. "Ah, boys," he said, leaning forward. "This might be even more interesting than crocodile man." She started regretting mentioning the Waynes. "So, go on, tell me more. The billionaire has sons, huh? How are they?"

She then told him that she hadn't met all of them, just one and the one that she met was a polite, respectful and clever guy who didn't seem conceited or arrogant. Then she told him about Tim's family. Her father nodded.

"I am not surprised. I mean, Bruce Wayne doesn't seem like the foppish playboy the tabloids paint him as. I hear he maintains a few charities and know he donates to the department." There was note of respect in her father's voice. Then it turned humorous again, "But clearly, you must have more to tell me. Did anyone catch your eye?" he asked, "Huh?"

Sensing the conversation may go into dangerous territory, Barbara turned away. "No dad, no one." She started off in the direction of her room.

"I'm making dinner!" her father called out after her.

"I'll come to eat," she replied.

A second later, "Are you sure no one caught your eye, Babs?" Her father's tone was light. She could sense his smile. "You know, like that Ted from…"

She stopped and turned to look at him over her shoulder. "Maybe," she said. Her father was waiting with raised eyebrows and a smirk on his face, knowing that she would end up telling him. Barbara had always trusted her father and didn't find it hard to confide in him. Before wheeling off again, she smiled and let herself answer honestly, "Dick Grayson."

— — —

After having dinner and a quick wash, Barbara sprawled out on her bed and started on her homework, preferring to have things done immediately rather than wait. It took her about forty-five minutes to finish up the day's work. Just as she had finished, there was a knock on the door.

"Babs?" her father called. "I'm going to crash. Good night."

"Good night, dad," she replied, looking at the clock that displayed: 10:21 PM.

"Sweet dreams."

She waited and listened to her father's footsteps walk away. Then she turned back to her finished work. Gathering up all the books, she placed them on her bedside table. For a while, her mind was blank and she toyed with the idea of going to bed early, but soon she got bored. Reaching out towards her laptop lying across the bed, she turned it on and opened her internet browser. The search field's vertical text cursor blinked at her, waiting.

She thought for a moment and then carefully typed in her keyword. D-I-C-K G-R-A-Y-S-O-N. She pressed enter. The page refreshed and provided a whole list of links. The third result available was a link to video. She clicked it and a new page opened, the video started playing.

From one video, she redirected to another. Then another. Then, there was one of Jason. She took a break in the middle to go read up a few articles posted in a few local websites and some in blogs that seemed to be maintained by students of Gotham High. Finding a picture of Dick Grayson in a tux, standing with his family in a formal event and carrying a baby girl, she spent a moment furiously debating internally before deciding to save the picture on her desktop. _Too adorable to resist,_ she justified it to herself. It truly was. The picture showed Dick, standing next to Bruce Wayne and cuddling a little girl in his arms. Next to Bruce Wayne, there was a beautiful woman and besides her, Jason, Tim and then Damian.

By the time Barbara Gordon fell asleep exhausted, her laptop still turned on and displaying a Gotham Gazette online page about an unexpected and terrible accident in a circus which cost the lives of two acrobats and orphaned a bright-eyed child many years earlier, the digital clock in her room read: 12:48 AM.

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 **A/N 2: Some characters may be slightly out-of-character, maybe. I don't think I screwed anyone up (majorly or minorly) but still... Tell me if you think so. Were they? Anyway, as always said by me and many other writers (especially fanfic writers) if you liked it, leave a review.**


	4. secrets

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hells yeah for me because I am on Tumblr now! My Tumblr (is that what I am supposed to call it?) will have deleted scenes from previous chapters, alternate unused ideas, excerpts/teasers for upcoming chapters, discussions about my AUs and other general reblogged stuff. I still haven't 100% figured out how Tumblr works, but I promise I will. Soon. You can follow me at (quivorian**. **tumblr**. **com) and it will all be cool.**

 **On another, more chapter related note: This chapter has one instance of 'strong language' with the proper introduction of Jason Todd, in all his glorious angry glory. He has good reason to be angry though you won't know what exactly it is for like one or two more chapters.**

* * *

Up until one week later – seven days since her first day at Gotham High – everything went more or less smoothly for Barbara. When she had lessons, she attended them all and she learned. Every period of free time she had ended up being spent with Stephanie, who after returning from the haziness she'd entered listening to Tim's words, was absolutely fun to talk to. The two of them talked about everything from hobbies and interests to the things they learned in class, but the topic of the Waynes was being avoided by an unspoken mutual agreement. At least for the time.

Still, Barbara did see the Waynes around quite a lot. Other than the loud and chaotic appearances at the cafeteria during break, they seemed to be present all around the school. Dick Grayson and Jason Todd were very physically active, frequently seen in the school gym room sparring each other with a not-so-subtle audience or the basketball court, gracefully maneuvering around their opponents and scoring with ease, much to delight of onlooking girls. Barbara also noted with surprise one day, that Jason had a tuft of hair that was streaked white. It only seemed to enhance his good looks.

Jason and Tim were seen together in the classes Barbara shared with them. Tim was no sloucher and engaged in the lessons with an enthusiasm Barbara shared, most of the time. He also talked to her when he had the chance, about everything ranging from the subject of their lessons to coding and computer languages, a passion she soon discovered she shared with Tim. Though brothers, Jason was did not interact much with Tim and when he did, he called Tim 'copycat'. Barbara didn't know why. She didn't prod, despite a burning curiosity.

Damian, though the youngest, was also seen playing _against_ his brothers in the basketball court and more often than Barbara would have imagined, scoring quite easily. Though young, he seemed immensely well-educated and skilled. He also seemed to have a growing fanbase. Tim, too, when he occasionally got into the basketball court or the swimming pool, seemed to have an audience.

The Waynes were popular.

That much was obvious to Barbara. And because of their popularity and the fact that though friendly with anyone and everyone they spoke to, the brothers never seemed to show any romantic interest in the girls fawning after them… Barbara knew that her growing affection for Dick Grayson was entirely too likely to be an unrequited crush forever.

It should have bothered her, but she wasn't afraid to admit that it did. _Slightly._

— — —

Seven days after her first day at Gotham High, Barbara came out of her Chemistry lesson, which Stephanie did not take, and looked around the hallway. Students were walking in either direction, chattering away with each other. Some were checking their lockers. Some, in tight groups, stood talking or on their phones or listening to music. Everyone seemed to be milling towards the cafeteria.

Stephanie was supposed to be waiting for her. Or at least, she always did. Today, she wasn't anywhere to be seen. Barbara took out her phone and quickly sent a text to Stephanie.

 **me:** where are you?

She didn't wait around for Stephanie. Deciding that going for lunch without Stephanie was not going to be fun anyway, she moved across the hallway and started towards the second computer lab, located deeper within the school, and almost always deserted. Barbara was developing a computer program and she wanted to work a little on it until Stephanie got back to her.

It took her around five minutes to get to the door of 'Computer Lab 2' and she reached with her hand to open it, but stopped when she realized there seemed to be someone already inside. She could hear two people arguing. Groaning, she turned to go away but then stopped.

Barbara recognized one of the voices. Then, when the other one shouted, she realized she recognized the second voice, too. The first was Tim Drake, not odd considering that it was a computer lab. The second was… Stephanie.

"Who the hell does he think he is?!" Stephanie's voice rang out from inside. She seemed enraged. Tamping down the desire to stay and eavesdrop, she started moving away.

Tim's voice started answering Stephanie, "Look…"

Stephanie's voice cut him off. "Look," Stephanie said, "I am gonna talk to that arrogant, assuming, self-righteous bastard!" Her footsteps started towards the door.

Tim spoke again, stopping her. "Look, Steph, I am not a fan of being beaten up but I think he sort of had the right in this case"— _Tim is beaten up? By who?_ —"and you don't think I didn't fight back, right? Jason is looking every bit as bad as I am," Tim paused for a moment and then added sheepishly, "Well, maybe not as bad as I am, but he is looking pretty bad."

Barbara had now given up any idea of going away. The conversation – or argument, it seemed more like – was too interesting. It also seemed like it might solve a few mysteries. _Tim's mysterious words,_ which Barbara had given up trying to decipher. _Stephanie's reluctance to reveal whatever she knew._ Barbara knew it was probably not very nice of her to eavesdrop… but curiosity won over.

"Tim," Stephanie spoke again, her voice softer, "this is all because of me. If he is angry at anyone, it should be at me. You didn't…" she trailed off.

"I did. I didn't stop you and if I had, all this wouldn't have happened."

"It was so childish, what I did," Stephanie said. Her voice was intermingled with a barely restrained sob. "I messed up everything."

"I… I don't know what to say, Steph," Tim said kindly, "Jason has never been a… talker. Speaking about his feelings is about the same as swallowing pins for him and he'd rather not do either." A teary laugh came from Stephanie. Tim chuckled too. "I still think you should have talked to him as soon as it happened."

"I didn't."

"No you did not," Tim said and then there was a long period of silence. When he spoke again, there was an understanding and a sadness in his voice. "Jason had more reasons than just you for… this," Tim said. "This was two years worth of contained anger that spilled out, uncontrolled. You weren't the reason so much as the final trigger that broke his restraint."

Barbara's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. Her mind listed the facts she had gathered. _Stephanie did something that upset Jason. It somehow involved Tim. Whatever happened also caused Jason to beat up Tim recently. Whatever happened, at least according to Tim, could have easily been solved by talking. There is two years worth of enmity between Jason and Tim._ She tried to fit the pieces together. The missing pieces, it seemed, all had to do with a relationship between Stephanie and Jason. _Which explains the fact that Stephanie appeared to have a crush on Jason._ It wasn't a crush, it was feelings that were remnants of a failed relationship that Tim somehow played a part in.

Trying to picture the whole puzzle, Barbara didn't hear the door open behind her.

"Babs?" Stephanie's voice uttered in surprise.

"Barbara?" Tim blurted.

Startled and ashamed of herself, Barbara turned to Stephanie and Tim with her cheeks warming up rapidly. She swallowed the knot that was rising in her throat.

Stephanie was standing with her hands in her hips. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, "How much did you hear?"

"I'm sorry…" Barbara started. "I…"

"Keep your sorry to yourself," Stephanie said. "How much did you hear?"

The bite in Stephanie's voice was hurting. Barbara felt as if she deserved it. "I came to use the lab and didn't expect anyone to be here. I didn't mean to…"

"How. Much. Did. You. Hear?" Stephanie replied, much slower this time. Every word was emphasized with a forced punctuation. Her eyes didn't have any of the usual cheeriness and through the thin layer of tears, she could see frustration. Barbara felt as if she might have permanently screwed up her friendship with both Stephanie and Tim.

"Not much," Barbara answered honestly, looking first at Stephanie and then at Tim. "I came when you asked 'who the hell does he think he is?' and only heard the rest."

Tim who had been silent so far, stepped forward. Barbara got a good look at him now and could see what 'beaten up' meant for the Wayne brothers. Tim's face was bandaged in three different places. His right eye was swollen and blue. There were two cracks on his lips that were stained with dried blood. Tim directed his gaze at Stephanie and spoke in a light tone. "Steph, she didn't hear much but maybe you should tell her," he stated through his teeth.

Stephanie turned and fixed her glazed blue-green eyes on him. "Really?" she asked. "The only reason I haven't is because of you." She poked his chest with her finger. He winced aloud. "Sorry," Stephanie blurted immediately, looking uneasy.

"Yeah. But…" Tim now looked at Barbara with his one good eye, "I don't mind if she knows that I screwed up your relationship. Which, I'm guessing, Barbara has already figured out from what she heard. She might as well as hear the details." He smiled knowingly at Barbara. With his cracked lips and injured face, it looked unsettling. "You have, right?"

Barbara nodded.

"See?" Tim looked back at Stephanie.

Stephanie sighed. She turned to Barbara and wiped away at her eyes and sniffled. "I am sorry I didn't tell you anything earlier," she apologized.

Barbara shrugged. "It's alright."

"No, I should have. You've been a great friend and infinitely better than any of the other stuck-up bi—"

Tim interrupted. "Language, Steph."

Stephanie stuck her tongue out. "Come," she said to Barbara, "I'll tell you the great and epic failure that was my two-day relationship with Jason Todd."

"Failure?" Barbara asked.

Stephanie nodded sadly.

"Not exactly," Tim added, grimacing and looking at Barbara, "It might been still ongoing. If I hadn't interrupted, like a total dick."

Then, taking control of Barbara's wheelchair, Stephanie started wheeling off. After a moment looking after them, unsure what to do, Tim followed when Stephanie motioned him to. The three of them moved in silence, having silently decided not to start speaking until they reached somewhere private and decidedly not school-hallway-like.

They never got to even start discussing what happened.

— — —

The trio moved past the cafeteria and all the classrooms (even the empty ones, because they carried the risk of being liable to interruption by either teachers or couples looking to 'make out') having decided to go to a corner in the Gotham High grounds between the Junior and Senior buildings. The grounds were all open and had nowhere where they could hide from the eyes of other students, but the spot that Tim suggested was isolated enough to be truly well away from eavesdropping ears. When he mentioned 'eavesdropping', Stephanie looked at Barbara with a twinkle in her eyes. Barbara started apologising again, only to be interrupted by a chuckle from Stephanie.

It was just as they descended the ramp beside the stairs leading to the grounds from the Senior building that trouble came. Halfway down the ramp, Stephanie stopped abruptly. "Oh crap," she said. Barbara looked ahead to see the advancing form of a very roughed up Jason Todd.

"You weren't kidding," Barbara said to Tim, "when you said you fought back."

Tim nodded, and took a deep breath. Then he cracked his knuckles and started to move in front of the girls. Stephanie put her arm out and stopped him. "Wait," she said and started walking down. Barbara moved after her, followed closely by Tim.

"You…" Jason's voice was seething with rage, "You. Fricking. Bastard!" He was pointing at Tim and growling. He had a cut in his cheek and it was impossible find an unbruised area of skin. The blue eyes he seemed to share with his brother were cold and hardened. As he neared them, Jason removed his red hoodie and threw it on the ground and took out a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on. "You simply can't keep away, can you?!"

"Jay…" Tim spoke slowly.

"Don't 'Jay' me!"

Barbara reached the end of the ramp and stopped. Jason was only a few feet away when Stephanie walked up to him and put gently her hands on his chest, slowing but not stopping him. His feet still moved forward. Tim moved in front of Barbara and stood at the ready, apparently expecting a fight. Stephanie was whispering something to Jason, desperately trying to stop him. It wasn't working.

Barbara watched with growing apprehension as Jason, holding Stephanie firmly with both hands, gently shoved her aside and took another step. "What joy do you get out of this, huh? What joy do you get out of taking my place in every fucking thing?"

"Jason, you don't understand!" Tim warned.

"Yeah, you idiot, you don't understand!" Stephanie shouted, tears now welling again in her eyes.

Jason paid no attention to either of them. His whole body seemed to vibrate. A fine layer of sweat coated his face, making the bruises shine. Barbara didn't know how to react. A crowd had gathered around, watching with interest, chanting, almost urging a fight. All of a sudden, from behind them, an unexpected voice spoke in a low voice.

"What exactly is going on here?"

Jason looked up at the intruder and stopped in his tracks. Stephanie choked back her tears. Tim turned and contorted his face. The boys in the crowd immediately stopped their chants and looked sheepish and the girls started whispering more fervently, though no one dispersed.

Barbara turned pushed the control on her armrest and turned her wheelchair around.

Dick Grayson was standing at the top of the stairs, hands in his hips, sweating from exertion and looking unmistakably unamused.

* * *

 **A/N 2: Hey peeps, if you think Jason won't beat the everloving hell out of Tim as I say he has... I promise I'll try to justify his anger soon. Also, Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon WILL interact in the next chapter! Gasp! Well done, me for finally almost getting there. You know the rest of the process: read, review.**

 **Also, someone teach me how exactly use and utilize Tumblr? I will eternally be thankful and maybe dedicate a chapter for you. Orrrr... write in response to a request! Or anything, really. Just need to learn to use Tumblr. On that note, please follow me on Tumblr.**


	5. emotions

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, no one wants to follow me on Tumblr? That makes me very sad. Matters not, anyway. Your loss, people! Here is the fifth chapter of The Wayne Brothers and FINALLY, Dick and Barbara have a conversation. They'll have a longer and a much more nicer conversation in the next chapter. Which might take a while to come, since I am taking a small hiatus from this fic.**

* * *

"What's going on, Jay?"

Barbara turned from Dick and looked at Jason.

After thirty whole seconds of staring down Dick, with the tension mounting, Jason took a small step forward and raised both hands, as if in surrender. "Don't get involved, Dick," he said and then without any warning, lunged across the short distance between him and Tim with his right arm extending in a fist.

Someone in the crowd shouted. Stephanie let out a strangled scream and staggered backwards. Barbara opened her mouth in silent protest. A fight had broken out. _Tim!_ she thought, but she soon found that she need not have worried.

Though Jason moved very fast and totally unexpectedly, Tim managed to get his wits about him and sidestep Jason's punch. Not faltering for one moment, Jason used the momentum he'd gained to immediately turn in a wide arc and attempted another punch. This one landed, connecting with a sick thud to Tim's stomach causing Tim to tumble down to the ground.

"Get up, _replacement,_ " Jason sneered.

On the ground, Tim growled and inched backwards as Jason took a step toward him, flexing his wrists. He managed to get onto his knees, and then suddenly stood up, with his hand clenched and aimed at Jason's chin. There was another crack as Tim's ungloved hands made the connection. Immediately, Tim withdrew his hand with a painful grimace.

Barbara looked at the fight, with her heart beating faster with every passing second. She glanced at Stephanie, who seemed to have lost control of herself and screaming for Jason to stop. She seemed as if she wanted to stop the fight herself, but was too afraid of being in the middle of a fierce battle between two equally matched opponents.

Dick Grayson, though he had interrupted the fight from beginning, was watching now with interest having arrived at the bottom of the stairs. Though in his clear blue eyes, Barbara was sure she saw frustration and restrained anger.

The two brothers were now circling each other like two boxers in the ring, their eyes focused in the fight, their ears ignorant of every sound but their own controlled breathing. Jason cracked his neck and spat out a mixture of saliva and blood on the ground. Tim, his blue eyes clouded, clenched and unclenched his fists and wiped off the blood that had started running again from his cracked lips.

The onlookers were silent and unmoving. Barbara looked at Dick who now stood besides her. After a second of debating herself about the virtues of getting into the middle of what might be a family matter, she tapped Dick in his elbow. He half-turned to look at her. She could see that his face was frozen in an odd expression that she couldn't place.

"Aren't you gonna do something?" she asked.

"I am," he replied, turning to the fight.

"When?" she questioned, "When one of them is too injured to continue? Or faint? This is not Fight Club, you know?!"

He turned back to her again with a patient look. "Both Tim and Jason have good reason to fight. Most of their frustration, at least Jason's—" His speech was interrupted as Tim ducked a dodge and came to a skidding stop in front of Dick.

Barbara stopped herself from screaming. A drop of blood fell off Tim's beaten face towards the ground. He looked as if he had had his face dragged against coarse sand.

Dick looked calmly at Tim and said, "You better stop this," When Tim ran back into the field and hurled himself at Jason tackling him to the ground, Dick turned back to Barbara. "Jason's frustration is not misplaced and he can't move past it unless he gets to do this…" He gestured with a hand at the fight.

"What happened?" Barbara asked, wincing when another one of Jason's punches landed.

Dick's shoulders sagged. He swallowed hard and ran his hand through his moppy hair, as if resigning himself and getting ready to tell her the story. But he didn't have a chance to. Stephanie, who had been crying, seemed to have decided that the fight had been going on for long enough and moved in front of Jason. Through her tears, she managed to scream at Jason to stop loud enough to make him pause in his tracks.

Jason eyed Stephanie. "Move, Steph."

"No."

"You protect him? You wanna protect the replacement?" he asked. His proud and defiant posture that had not slackened once for more than ten seconds, even when he had taken hard hits, just crumbled. He let out a suppressed laugh and wiped his face with both hands. His eyes were hardened and cold. "Of course you do."

"You know I don't mean that!" Stephanie slammed her fists on Jason's chest and held them there, pushing against him. He winced visibly but he didn't move the slightest or make a sound. "You know…"

Tim took a step forward. "Jay– Jason," he started, his voice tender, though Jason had just injured him extensively, "What happened was just a mistake. On both my part and hers." He stopped speaking immediately when Jason turned his cold gaze towards him.

Barbara, sitting in her wheelchair, felt as if she was intruding on another private moment. Whatever was going on was the business of the Waynes and Stephanie. She carefully adjusted the books on her lap and started reversing her wheelchair. Dick looked at her and raised his eyebrows. She just shrugged. In reply, Dick raised a hand and made motioned her to wait.

The crowd that had formed a circle around the fight waited with collectively bated breath, apparently enjoying the drama unfolding in front of them. Tim, Jason and Stephanie stood frozen, all evidently waiting for something. Dick took a sweeping look at all of them and started to move in a circle. "Alright, people, show's over. Move away now."

No one moved an inch. Dick completed one circle and started on another. "I'm serious, guys," his voice was low but firm, "Move. Away." Some started inching backwards. "Move," Dick said again, more firmly.

It was Jason's sudden shout that finally did disperse them all. "MOVE!" he screamed, startling everyone into rushing away. Stephanie, with her hand still firmly planted on Jason's chest, slipped. Before she could even _begin_ to fall, Jason's hands were at her hips, preventing her from falling. After, they stayed there, holding her firm.

As the last of the unwelcome audience had walked away, with multiple backward glances at the group, Dick walked to the middle of Tim and Jason. "Tim," he started, "you will talk to Jason tonight, at the Manor. For now, get to the first aid room and then go home. Also Bruce is _not_ going to be happy about this and neither is Selina or Alfred. Prepare an explanation."

Tim nodded curtly at Dick, Jason and Stephanie, said goodbye to Barbara with a good-natured glint in his eyes and walked away without another word.

Waiting until Tim disappeared inside the door to the school, Dick turned pointedly towards Jason and Stephanie. Jason still had his hands on Stephanie's hips. Hers clutched at Jason's t-shirt, clinging on almost desperately. "Jay," Dick spoke now, with an air of authority that Barbara guessed he had used many times before in other situations, "you will sit down and _talk_ with Tim. Fists are, preferably, not allowed," There was a smile in his voice. "For now…" he paused and made an awkward half-gesture towards him, "I think you and Stephanie need to… err… well, talk."

Stephanie let out a sound that was a cross between a choke and a giggle.

"Do I, Dick?" Jason asked. "And…"

Before he could continue his statement, Stephanie spoke. "Yes, Jason. Yes, we do." Her statement effectively shut Jason up. "Babs," Stephanie looked at Barbara, "I'll, um, tell you the story later?"

Smiling, Barbara nodded. "Go."

"No," Dick said as Stephanie pulled at Jason's hands, "Jason needs something for his face, too. So, you know, get an ice pack or something and then go. You can be all tender and loving-like and play nurse and patient."

Jason glare was filled with pure hatred. Barbara feared another fight may break out. Thankfully, before anything further could happen, Stephanie walked over to Jason's red hoodie, picked it up and pulled again at Jason's hands and the two of them started walking away. Stephanie had a spring in her step. Jason moved behind her with the reluctant dragging walk of a dog being dragged to the vet for an injection. The image made Barbara chuckle.

Dick waited patiently till Jason and Stephanie disappeared behind a cluster of trees, following the pathway that led to the school's parking space, completely ignoring his request that they get an ice pack. After they were gone, Dick wheeled around and walked towards Barbara.

"Hi," she greeted him delicately, as he stood in front of her.

"Hey," he said.

"We're in trouble," said the breathless voice of Tim Drake. Dick turned towards the voice.

"What do you mean?" Dick's voice was wary.

Tim took a moment to collect his breath. He had a few more bandages and Barbara noticed an ice pack in each of his hands. His face probably needed the cold treatment desperately. Though he looked banged up, he didn't show any pain. "Leslie called Bruce."

"Leslie?" Barbara asked, not knowing who Tim was referring to,

"Headmistress," both Dick and Tim said in unison.

"Headmistress Leslie Thompson," Dick clarified further. _Headmistress Thompson?_ Barbara had only heard of her as Ms Thompson, never Leslie. "She called Bruce?" Dick asked his brother.

Tim nodded. "Said that the fight, err, was against a few school regulations. Bye." Flashing a grin at Barbara, he dashed off in the way that Jason and Stephanie went.

Dick groaned. "That's not going to be good."

"Probably not," Barbara added helpfully.

Dick was silent for a few minutes and then turned back to her. "Well," his voice was matter-of-fact and totally solemn, but he had a grin in his face, "this is the first incident in a few months… So, I think we'll be fine."

"Fine?" Barbara raised her eyebrows.

"Well… somewhat fine."

"Does this happen often?" she asked.

"More than I am proud of." He grinned at her. The Dick Grayson standing before her was the Dick Grayson she had seen on her first day, smiling and cheerful and clearly very handsome. The look of concern and worry that had defined his features a few minutes ago, when his brothers were fighting, was not suiting him.

A smile crossed Barbara's lips. "So, every day?"

"No, no, no. Not as often as that," Dick looked away, then mumbled, "Only every other day."

Barbara let herself laugh. When her laughter died down, she looked up to see Dick's eyes on her. When her eyes connected with his, he coughed and looked away. For a few moments, the two of them waited, with a delicate silence stretching between them, before it was shattered by the loud ring of Dick's mobile phone.

"Give me a minute," he said to her and pulled his phone out. He pressed a button and then put it to his ear. "Hey Bruce," he started, with a false overly cheery voice, "how are you?" Then he waited, nodding. "Hm. Ahuh. Yes. No, no, that did happen." Dick groaned. "Yeah, what you heard is– I am sorry that your meeting was interrupted but…" He nodded silently. "Yeah, I'll do that. Selina? Well, I'm sure Leslie will find the meeting interesting." He laughed, seemingly along with whoever was on the other end of the phone. "Chicken, I think. Bye. See you at the Manor."

Once he pocketed his phone again, Barbara looked at him, biting her lips and raising her eyebrows. "Chicken, you think?"

Dick nodded. "Alfred's menu for tonight."

Barbara didn't understand what it meant but she nodded. "Oh. Can I ask who that was?"

"Bruce. He was, understandably, not very happy with what had happened. The call interrupted a meeting, which is bad enough, but he was more concerned about Jay and Tim. The behaviour is… worrying."

"I can't disagree," Barbara said.

"And Leslie asked him whether he could come by to have a talk, which he couldn't today or this week… So, he sent Selina."

"Selina?"

Dick nodded. "Um, Bruce's wife. My, um, stepmom of sorts. Kinda. I don't know what you call your legal guardian's wife." He looked at her as if waiting for her to provide the answer. When she shrugged, he continued. "So, she's coming to talk to Leslie which I am sure Leslie is not going to enjoy much and I am supposed to wait for her afterschool."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The bell rang from inside the school, marking the end of the break period. Students who had disappeared effectively after Jason's shout, appeared and started rushing back inside. Barbara did a little wave at Dick and started turning back, "I'll see you later, then."

She moved her wheelchair to the ramp and started ascending. A quarter of the way through, she stopped when she heard Dick call out to her. "Erm, Barbara?"

"Yeah?"

"It's not going to be particularly flashy or anything, but I am going to be bored waiting for Selina to come – if she ends up being late – so, would you mind staying with me? I'll tell you what I know about Jason and Steph, since she _is_ going to tell you anyway and Stephanie can fill in the rest."

Barbara felt the hope that she had been tamping down during her short conversation with Dick strain to burst open. Inside, she felt herself almost squealing. She never squealed. Her heart beat fastened. She took a deep breath before answering as nonchalantly as she could possibly answer. "Yeah," she said, "I can stay."

Dick Grayson beamed at her.

* * *

 **A/N 2:** **As always: read, review. I keep saying that like a broken record. Still, I'll appreciate every single review and value your thoughts as readers. Plus, sometimes you guys shape the way my story goes. Without the input of user 'transmetaljohn', I would have been stuck as to the direction this fic goes in. I thanked him/her before, but again: thank you.**

 **Like I said above, this fic will probably be inactive for about week while I start the first chapter of another story idea that popped into my head, tentatively titled; A DANGEROUS WORLD. Starring Selina Kyle as the main character, it will be an AU in which she starts working as Bruce Wayne's personal secretary at Wayne Enterprises in an attempt to steal a beyond priceless painting that graces the wall of his office. The tone of the new fic may be more mature, as I experiment with new things and it will, like the Wayne Brothers, be a non-Batman fic. As in, Bruce never took on the mantle of the Bat.**

 **In another note new-fic related note, I also have ANOTHER story developing which is set in a non-Batman AU, maybe the same as A DANGEROUS WORLD. Dr. Harleen Quinzel will be the main character,. Floyd Lawton, heavily suffering from PTSD, comes to her for treatment. Sort of romance ensues. It'll be more darker and mature, too.**


	6. time together

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: It has been a long, long time since the last update, so I won't ramble on much in the beginning. Do jump right in.**

* * *

Selina Kyle, it turned out, was a very punctual woman.

A very punctual, elegant, gorgeous, beautiful woman and Barbara was slightly inclined to resent her. _Slightly_. Barbara learned that when she raced her wheelchair into the hallway outside Principal Thompkin's office, where Dick Grayson had asked her to meet with him and found Dick leaning against the wall besides the doorway talking to a woman.

Barbara recognized her. In her 'Dick Grayson' search earlier, she had come across photos of the same woman. Looking surprisingly young and with her hair cut short to a point it was almost boyish, always outfitted in a black… The same woman now stood before Barbara in a smart black top and skirt, looking semi-professional, with a pair of green earrings and bracelets almost as if she had stepped off a modeling competition. It was no doubt that this was Selina Kyle.

Seeing Selina already having arrived, Barbara slowed her wheelchair down to a complete stop. She didn't know what to do, but then Dick glanced in her direction and gestured at her to join him. Slowly and cautiously, Barbara moved towards the two of them.

When she neared them, she did a little wave at Dick.

He waved back. "Selina," he addressed the woman standing in front of him, "this is Barbara Gordon. She's my…" He looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "friend."

"Friend, huh?" Selina asked.

Dick nodded his head vigorously. "Barbara, this is Selina Kyle. My… um…"

"Elder sister?" Selina offered. And then laughing brightly, she extended a hand to Barbara. "I'm not his elder sister. I'm his adoptive father's gorgeous wife," Selina corrected herself as she shook Barbara's hands.

"Miss Kyle," Barbara said.

"Miss Wayne, more like. Or Kyle-Wayne. Or Wayne-Kyle." Selina showed her left hand and waggled the fourth finger, where a small well-cut emerald ring sat. "I really don't know what's the correct order."

"I don't think it matters." Barbara said, smiling.

"Hm. Anyway, Barbara, you can call me Selina." Raising her eyebrow, Selina turned to Dick who was just standing there, watching the interaction. "Dick," she intoned. "Why have I not heard of Barbara before?"

"She's new."

"Yes," Barbara added. "I only moved to Gotham recently."

"Huh."

Dick turned and pointed at the principal's office. "So, how did the meeting go?"

Selina made a show of thinking for a while and then small smile crossed her lips. Barbara could see that there were traces of concern in her eyes, despite her outward appearance. "How else do you think? Leslie wasn't exactly happy… but then again, she had every reason not to be. A full-on brawl breaking out in the middle of the school day out on the school grounds?" Selina shook her head. "The fact that the fight resulted in blood didn't add to her mood either." Selina rolled her eyes and sighed. "Jason and Tim aren't exactly lined up to be Students of the Year."

"I don't think Jason ever was," Dick said, looking down and shaking his head. Barbara, watching his eyes, found that there was humor in his words mixed with a deep-set sadness concerning his brothers.

"Well," Selina spoke softly, looking at Dick. "He _is_ a complicated young man."

Dick nodded.

"And he has good reason to be. I actually believe he is better now than he was before… Bruce's influence has been good on him..."

Dick nodded again. Barbara thought back to the fight she'd witnessed and the ferociousness with which Jason attacked. The only other times Barbara had seen anyone fight like that, it had been in the TV or in movies and she knew they were faked. Jason wasn't. _And this is better than before?_ What Jason had been like before, Barbara didn't know, but from what she had seen she understood that Jason was somewhat broken inside, and very troubled. She made a note to talk to Stephanie about Jason later.

Selina continued, still talking to Dick. "I'm sure Jason would have been expelled if it were not for no small amount of influence of Bruce's. Anyway," Selina chuckled. "I hear, you aren't doing much better, either."

Dick's head snapped up. "What? You're kidding."

"Not breaking up the fight?" Selina asked.

Barbara nodded at Dick. "You actively avoided breaking up the fight…"

Dick glared at her and clutched his chest in mock-hurt. There was a shining humor in his eyes that bore through her and made her shiver inside. "Well," he looked at Selina and Barbara and shrugged defensively. "Both of them needed to get it out."

"That incident with David Cain?"

 _What?_ Barbara thought. She didn't know who David Cain was or what exactly Dick had done to him. But Dick seemed to know what Selina was talking about and smiled at Selina.

"One, that is like seriously old news. And two, what I did? He deserved more than that."

Barbara made a mental note to herself ask Dick about this later. For now, not able to contribute much to the conversation and feeling like an outsider looking into Dick's private life, she was reduced to just watching him with his pseudo-mother, acting like a son. For some reason, watching Dick like this was only making Barbara's relentless attraction for him grow. Despite the fact that he came from _the_ wealthiest family in Gotham (and quite possibly Metropolis, Coast City, Central City, Gorilla City and the rest of the known world), despite the fact that he was adopted, he still behaved (for most of the time) normal.

Normal for a gorgeous athletic genius boy, anyway.

"Well, that was about it." Selina shrugged. "Oh, and…" Then she opened the purse she held in her hand – studded with small green stones, Barbara noticed – and pulled out an engraved pen.

Dick's eyes widened at the sight of it. "That's…" He turned to Leslie's door and stammered. "That's Leslie's."

Selina nodded mischievously.

"You aren't supposed to steal, you know."

Selina stuck her tongue out and then froze. With her tongue between her teeth, Selina looked at Barbara with a mixture of mischief, shame and embarrassment in her eyes. Slowly pulling her tongue inside, she muttered, "Sorry. Still not used to behaving like the wife of a billionaire in front of normal people." Then she looked at Dick, who was struggling not to laugh and added, "You know, I may have married Bruce Wayne but I was a thief."

 _A thief?_ Barbara thought as she broke out laughing. Her initial minor resentment of Selina had also quickly faded away. Selina Kyle, who acted very much unlike the wife of a billionaire, seemed genuinely kind and loving and Barbara could see that she cared for her step-adopted-children. Also, it didn't hurt that she was a gorgeous woman who seemed to have an excellent taste in fashion. And the fact that she had just stated that she used to be a thief simply added to her allure and in Barbara's mind various questions raised. _How did she meet Bruce? Is she reformed? Did she try stealing from the Waynes?_ The answers to the question, it seemed to Barbara, would be a perfect romantic story.

"Maybe I should tell Bruce." Dick winked at Selina.

Selina stuffed the pen back in her purse. "Go ahead." Selina held a hand besides her mouth and turning to Barbara, mouthed, "I actually do tell Bruce, so it doesn't matter."

Barbara laughed and tried to tamp down the very awkward images that suddenly popped up in her head, inspired no doubt by a movie she'd recently seen. Dick simply looked confused and mocked hurt.

Selina cleared her throat, paying no attention and spoke to Dick. "Anyway, I think we should go. Bruce will be at the office all day and I have to go meet him before going off to work myself. Alfred will be busy and I don't trust Tim or Damian with her right now, so I'm going to need you to watch after Helena for me?"

"Helena?" Barbara asked, her voice rising in curiosity and then quickly covered her mouth. She hadn't meant to blurt that out.

Neither Dick nor Selina seemed to mind. Dick nodded. "Yeah. My sister."

"Helena Wayne. My daughter," Selina smiled, and in Selina's sparking eyes, Barbara saw the same look that she had seen so many times in her father's eyes whenever he spoke of Barbara.

"Oh."

Barbara's mind immediately flashed back to the picture she had seen of Dick with his family at some sort of formal event. Standing next to Bruce, Dick had been carrying a baby girl in his arms who had been gnawing at his tux, making his arm wet and spit-stained. In the picture, Dick didn't seem like he cared.

Now, it was obvious to Barbara that the bundle of adorableness that was being carried by the perfect package of teenage allure was Helena Wayne, and Dick Grayson's sister. Inside, Barbara swooned. _God, he is getting cuter with every new thing I learn about him._

Dick ran a hand through his moppy hair. "Selina, you know I'd love to look after Helena but… Um… is there no…"

Selina raised her eyebrows. "Why?"

"It's just… I…" He looked at Barbara and muttered, "I… Barbara… talk… promised I would."

"Oh…" Selina scrunched her face. "Sorry, no."

Selina fixed her piercing gaze at Barbara and her eyes twinkled knowingly. Barbara felt highly intense flames of embarrassment color her cheeks. She bit her teeth for a moment and swallowing, said to Dick, "No… I… we didn't… you didn't… I don't–I mean, um… It's alright. You can… We can… talk later."

"No, Barbara…"

Dick's words were interrupted when Selina spoke, tapping a finger against her cheek and fixing her eyes at Barbara, looking as if she was planning something. Barbara started worrying. "You know what, Dick?"

"Yeah?" Dick asked, voice low and cautiously curious.

"Helena needs to be looked after."

Dick nodded. "Yeah…"

Selina looked at Dick and smiled. "And you seemed to have planned something with Barbara here."

"He hasn't," Barbara muttered under her breath, embarrassed. Selina didn't hear her, or if she did, didn't really care.

"I sort of have," Dick said, looking at both Selina and Barbara. "It's… um…"

"No, I get it." Selina chuckled again, her eyes alight with trouble. "I do. So…" Selina turned again to Barbara. "Barbara, this is not something I would usually ask one of Dick's friends but considering that there is no other option here… would you mind helping look after my daughter?"

"Huh?" Barbara gulped.

"Helena is no trouble and I would really appreciate it. Plus, you can still have your… 'talk'"—Barbara could _hear_ the air quotes in Selina's voice—"with Dick."

Barbara's cheeks were burning as hotter than a hairdryer at full blast. She started shaking her head meekly. "It's okay… I don't mind…"

"You know what…" Dick cut in, his voice gleeful, as if he was extremely glad that Selina had bought up this point. He turned to Barbara and smirked.

Whatever he was about to say, Barbara could already feel herself agreeing.

"Please," Dick said beguilingly. "Babs,"— _he called me Babs?!_ —" if you don't mind… I insist. I'd really appreciate the help."

 **A/N 2: So,** **Done reading?** **Do tell me, what did you think? Do you all like the direction the story is going in? The way I am introducing characters? Found that one little reference that sets up the introduction of yet another Batfamily character? The interactions between characters?**

 **Anyway, do comment and please follow me on Tumblr for all things write-y and extra material for my stories and whatnot. I'm quivorian there, too.**


	7. Chapter 7

**UPDATE: IGNORE EVERYTHING BELOW. READ THROUGH IT AND THEN DISCARD IT.**

This fic, once known as the Wayne Brothers, is now called "a world where love hurts less" and is, in my canon, an alternate universe of my upcoming fic which will go on under the original name of this one: The Wayne Brothers. This fic will continue, getting progressively more fluffier and act, hopefully, as a salve to the emotional wounds that I hope to inflict on my readers in the other one... because, well, that one is going to get ugly.

Have fun.

Quiv, out.

Hey guys.

Please read through the whole thing.

Sorry for the false update. But this is not another chapter. This is an announcement regarding the sudden and tragic ending of this short lived 6-chapter fic based on the Wayne Brothers and associated DC characters. As of this moment, the Wayne Brothers as you knew it is no more.

 **Earlier, I had posted this on my wildly unobserved Tumblr page:**

 **A bunch of you in here have read my wildly (he adds the adjective, hopefully) popular (not really)** fic **; The Wayne Brothers. A bunch of you amongst those bunch who have read the fic even like it.**

 **Which is why asking this is sorta hard for me…**

 **What do you think about me deleting the fic?**

 **And replacing it with a very similar (same characters, same events and all)** fic **that also adds a layer of murder-mystery-** ishness **to it? Well, not a murder mystery maybe, but a mystery nonetheless? It would let me take on the characteristics of Barbara, Dick, Tim, Jason and the rest of the crew.**

 **I mean, yes, an all-out romance (which is the direction the current Wayne Brothers story is heading in) is not a bad thing, but think how great it can be if all the romance is mixed in with the characters being the badasses they were always meant to be and are?**

 **This will eventually evolve into _part 2; the Wayne Family_ and then _part 3; the Wayne Secrets_. Maybe a _part 4; the Wayne Legacy_ , as well. *wink wink***

 **I won't do this if there is backlash against the idea.**

 **Just… tell me what you think.**

To which, understandably, I had very little response. So, instead of waiting for people who probably hadn't seen my post to give their thoughts, I decided that since I am the author, I may as well as do things for the story that would make it better. And I swear, the renewed "The Wayne Brothers" will strive to surpass this fic in every way. Now, the only question I have is whether I should delete the existing fic to replace it with the newer version or should I leave it as it is for nostalgia (and maybe for when my other fic turns out sucky and you all pressure me into continuing this… *crosses fingers and whispers half-hurried prayers*)

* * *

Now that the announcement that this fic is done is done, let me give you a taste of what to expect from the one that will replace it. A sort-of trailer, sort of.

 **Before he could open his mouth, Barbara spoke. "You're home early," she stated.**

 **Her father nodded, "I am."**

 **"Why… are you home early?"**

 **"I wanted to be here for when you come back," Detective James Gordon answered, with a smile lighting up his tired face.**

 **She smiled back at him. Her father had always been an affectionate man, and it had only increased since the untimely death of her mother. Taking on the role of both father and mother, he had raised Barbara up single-handedly and managed to have an excellent career as a detective, risen through the ranks and now ended up a captain in the Gotham City Police Department.**

 **Not once had he let himself be weakened by his responsibilities. Barbara loved him for it. And now, he had come home early to be there for her – something he had been doing without fail** **the first day of every year of her academic life.**

 **"So," she started speaking before he could and beat him to the opening question of their little ritual. "How was your day?"**

 **Her father looked away for a moment,** **as if contemplating whether or not to share information with her. A moment later, he looked back, and Barbara could see that he looked troubled. "Bad."**

 **"Why?"**

 **"There's been a murder of a prominent businessman. Some visiting guy. One moment he's working** **on his laptop and the other, he's bleeding over it."**

 **"CCTV?" Barbara asked.**

 **"Yeah. He was in his office** in **the 19th floor of a secure building… so, about 20 CCTV cameras covering almost every inch of the floor. About 2 minutes of footage goes missing and within that time, the guy's dead."**

 **"Nothing pointing towards any culprit?"**

 **"Nothing."**

 **There was a knock on her window.**

 **Barbara heard it, looked over to the window** beside **her bed and then turned back to the book she was reading. _It was probably_ – The knock came again, a little louder this time, but held back enough as to avoid attracting too much attention. Suddenly still in her seat, Barbara waited, straining to listen, while a low sense of dread started to creep over her. The third knock was accompanied by someone outside whispering in frustration.**

 **"What in the world is she doing?"**

 ** _What?_ Barbara did a little double take when she realized that she knew who the voice belonged to. Now curious, she got up and walked to the window, pulled apart the curtain and stared straight into the very nicely sculpted behind of Dick Grayson.**

 **He was leaning over the railing of the old fire escape and seemingly making hand gestures at someone on the ground below. When she pulled the window open, he startled for a second and turned to her. He smiled and nodded at her before dropping in through her window uninvited. Not that she'd have said no, but still.**

 **"So," he said** **casually as if he'd just walked in, "This is your room." He nodded. "Not bad." Then he turned back to her and with a twinkle in his blue eyes, said, "Put something on that isn't** **pajamas."**

 **She didn't respond to his comment. The best she could do was glare at him in confusion. She pointed with one hand at the window and with the other at him and asked, "H-How?"**

 **"The fire escape, obviously."**

 **"What?"**

 **"The fire escape," he repeated, looking at her as if she had become a little dense, and then continued, "Come on, Babs, you look nice in your PJs but they won't do."**

 **"Why?"**

 **"Because we need to go. And it's cold outside. And the guys are waiting and they're really,** **really excited and we–Jason is at the wheels, okay? The longer you take the more chances of him getting overworked and driving off and I really, really don't want to be left alone in your room with you alone at midnight, not that I don't want to–I mean, I don't. Not now. Wait. Don't get me wrong, it's just–"**

* * *

Now, there are no assurances that the above scenes will take place verbatim in the fic, but something very close to both will. The working synopsis for the story as of now is;

 **There is trouble is Gotham City.**

 **And if Barbara Gordon keeps on associating herself with the Wayne Brothers, she just might find herself right in the midst of it. Barbara knows this. Though, the thing, as it happens out, is… you see, _she doesn't want to_.**

* * *

A lot of the characters as you knew them from the original will change, but not entirely. The major changes are as follows.

1) Barbara Gordon is not yet on a wheelchair.

Other than that, you will Jason being even rougher than he is and probably be a sort-of casual drug user. Kate Kane will make an appearance. Tim might be a bisexual (huge "might" for now since I'm still planning the series). Along with a wide host of characters that we know from the Bat Family and Batman's villains, you will also see multiple references to and will meet characters from the wider DC universe. Helena Wayne and Helena Bertinelli (the latter character inspired by the former) might exist side-by-side. You may see references to Ibn al Xu'ffasch. Barbara herself will be an accomplished hacker and will get to use that powers. Most of the dating-ness and romance will be rewind to present the characters at an earlier stage. Damian Wayne himself will be a key character. Other than that, the fic will be a mix of romance and mystery and rich boys being overly snoopy and getting themselves and innocent girls into unnecessary trouble.

With all that done, I thank each and every single one of you for your encouragement and support as I wrote this (all honesty, the fic started as something I wrote on a whim, no plans for anything and it only even reached chapter 6 because of you). I hope that I haven't turned you guys off by what I'm doing and that I will earn back your trust and forgiveness and be able to entertain you with the renewed version of the Wayne Brothers.

Thank you. Truly.

Quiv _ **out.**_


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